Rice, sugar seized in Philippines

Rice, sugar seized in Philippines

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP): Police and soldiers seized thousands of bags of rice, sugar and other goods smuggled from Malaysia to the southern Philippines, authorities said on Saturday.

In the first seizure on Thursday, 350,000 50-kilogram bags of rice and sugar were seized from a ferry off Jolo town in Sulu province where it anchored after arriving from the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, Southern Command deputy chief Brig. Gen. Alberto Braganza said.

Braganza said the seizure followed intelligence reports of renewed smuggling activities in southern Philippine seas bordering Malaysian territory.

In the second seizure on Friday, police and soldiers in Zamboanga City confiscated eight steel containers filled with bags of sugar, two others containing rice and two more loaded with a banned detergent and 500 bales of used clothes.